Tropical Botany Course

Tropical Botany is an intensive course of study in the biology and systematics of tropical plants. The class is largely based on the extensive holdings of tropical vascular plants at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, The Kampong of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, University of Miami’s Gifford Arboretum, and the Montgomery Botanical Center. These gardens have the largest living collections of tropical plants in the United States. Additionally, field trips to the Florida Everglades, the Florida Keys, and adjacent natural areas are included. The natural vegetation of South Florida, which includes littoral and dry land habitats, mixed tropical hardwood hammocks, pinelands, and mangrove communities, introduces students to the diversity of tropical vegetation.

The object of the course is to provide advanced students and/or professionals with a detailed coverage of the systematics, phylogeny, diversity of structure, economic botany and conservation of tropical seed plants. Dr. Walter Judd (University of Florida) and ICTB Director Dr. Christopher Baraloto teach this intensive month-long course along with Dr. Lucas Majure, from the Desert Botanical Garden. Students can enroll in either BSC 6936 (graduate) or BSC 4934 (undergraduate) at Florida International University to receive credit for their participation.

Our 2018 cohort was composed of 15 students from across the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago, France, Brazil, Jamaica, French Guiana, Peru, and Colombia. Several students were able to attend thanks to generous gifts from the Giving Back Foundation and The Levine Family Trust.

Future Tropical Botanists

Please check back here for updates on the 2019 Tropical Botany Course.